Relationship of shale dewatering and smectite dehydration to undercompaction occurrence. Final report, October 1995--September 1996

摘要

The cause(s) of abnormal fluid pressures in sedimentary basins are not clearly understood. One step in determining the mechanism(s) of abnormal pressure generation in sedimentary basins is to develop and understanding of the relationship among undercompacted shale, abnormal pressure, and temperature. The research focused on understanding undercompaction and how it related to smectite-illite conversion. A series of carefully designed experiments were used to help clarify and evaluate the relationship of smectite-illite transformation to undercompaction. Work was performed at the East Flour Bluff oil field, Nueces County, TX and the Ann Mag oil field, south TX.